


Midnight Kiss, New Year Wish

by voluptuous_volus



Series: Once Upon a Holiday [2]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 17:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17451452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voluptuous_volus/pseuds/voluptuous_volus
Summary: “So, we kissed,” Josie said without hesitation.She stepped forward, out of the shadows. One of the first things Penelope noticed was that Josie’s eyes were bloodshot, drooping in exhaustion. The second was the harsh smell of alcohol and the rosiness of her cheeks.Great, Penelope thought bitterly. If there was something she learned from her long complicated history with her ex, it was that her drunken ramblings weren’t just random thoughts. Drunk Josie was more honest and less cautious than the sober version of herself.“Jojo,” Penelope sighed. “You’re drunk and I’m high. That’s a very dangerous combination.”“It was a great kiss.” Josie interrupted.Penelope nearly lost her footing.





	Midnight Kiss, New Year Wish

**Author's Note:**

> This is the continuation of the How the Grinch Saved Christmas.

Penelope had never thought that the words coming out of M.G’s mouth would send her into a reeling feat of denial and irritation, and it kept ringing in her mind as they began to approach the library. 

“You kissed Josie on Christmas Eve. You two locked lips,” M.G whispered once again just like what did when they stepped out of her room. This time, his tone carried a feverish spirit as though he was the one who received the action. “Then you two kissed again in your room, and…”

“I know.” Penelope hissed under her breath, eyes flitting back and forth to possible eavesdroppers. What happened on Christmas Eve was something she wasn’t keen to share to the whole student body of Salvatore Boarding School. It was her secret, and by extension granted by friendship, M.G’s too. “No need for recounts.”

M.G raised his eyebrow. “For someone who excitedly recounted the event to me, you sure are not--”

“Shh! Do me a favor and don’t mention it again.” 

“Look, I get that you and Lizzie are friends now--fine, acquaintances-- so there’s really no need to walk on eggshells anymore. I don’t see any problem if you want Josie back.”

The problem was, Penelope wasn’t even sure if Josie was on the same page. Sure the kiss was way better than the one they had when her ex was buried alive, but at the same time, it had been one of her worsts. Penelope would never forget the way it started as a gentle and very meaningful kiss, delicate like butterfly wings. Or the way it grew bigger and more intense, how Josie hungrily pushed her against her bed. 

Or the way she passed out from exhaustion because of her earlier ordeal with magic. And waking up alone in bed. 

Penelope glanced at her friend with an unaccustomed scowl on her face.

“Josie hasn’t talked about it since Christmas Eve. I don’t see any problem If I do the same.”

M.G groaned, his eye focused on the distant silhouette hiding behind the bookshelves. Penelope glanced at the same direction, taking notice of a bored looking Lizzie and of Josie’s apprehensive form. 

“You two should really talk.”

She locked eyes with Josie, prompting a small smile on her lips. Josie blushed furiously, dragging her twin towards the nearest exit. 

M.G gave her a pointed look.

“Not a word, M.G,” Penelope scowled. “Not a word.”

 

*** 

Josie was freaking out in her own Josie kind of way. Penelope was the first person who noticed that her ex pacing back and forth in the halls of the school, muttering under her breath, and the sporadic burst of magic wasn’t part of her normal routine. 

“Josie’s acting weird,” M.G whispered, eyeing the girl from the distance. “And I’m pretty sure it’s your fault.”

“I’m literally not doing anything!” Penelope snapped. “Josie’s just…”

“Probably finding the courage to talk to you,” M.G tapped his ear, indicating his super hearing, “you could literally end this by just approaching her.”

“Which I’m not going to do,” Penelope grabbed M.G’s arm, stopping him from approaching the girl. “Also, don’t eavesdrop. That’s creepy.”

“Fine but P, talk to her. Be the bigger person.” M.G hesitated. “You still care for her, right?”

Penelope scoffed. “What makes you think I don’t?”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

Penelope hummed, enjoying the disgruntled look on M.G’s face.

Of course, she cares about Josie. Josie was the only person worth caring for and Penelope was certain that no one would capture her heart again the way her ex did. But Christmas Eve made her realize that their relationship wasn’t exactly perfect, much less healthy.

The spark was there. The passion and intimacy were there. Whenever Josie looked at her it was as though every ounce of breath was taken from her lungs. Every kiss felt like it can suspend time, making the whole world still except for the two of them. It felt impossible, ridiculous even, to consider the possibility that their relationship would end.

But it did. 

Because Lizzie made it her personal vow to control everything around her, even her sister. Because Penelope was as controlling, needy, and vindictive as the other Saltzman. Because Josie couldn't stand the idea of asserting her own needs and would rather suffer in silence than let other people know that they were hurting her.

Christmas Eve made Penelope realize that if there was a way to move forward, it would be realizing that marks of maturity meant different things for different people. For Lizzie, it meant slackening her grip to the idea that she could control everything in her life. For her, it meant the bitter taste of delaying her own gratification and be concerned about the needs and wishes of others. 

For Josie, it meant asserting herself. It meant tackling things on her own. 

Lizzie was slowly connecting the dots that was her emotional toll to her twin. Penelope was trying to be selfless in a very selfish world. From the look on Josie's eyes, she was still trying to find the courage to think for her own sake, even for once.

Pre-Christmas Eve, she would have helped Josie by taunting her to spill her emotions. Pre-Christmas Eve, Penelope wouldn’t think twice about approaching Josie. Or their relationship.

“You still not talking to her?”

Penelope shook her head. If moving forward meant leaving Josie alone in her devices, Penelope would begrudgingly do so. All you need to do is come here, Penelope silently begged. 

Josie caught her eyes, her chin trembled. Once she got the message that Penelope wasn’t going to approach her, Josie ran to the other direction.

Penelope sighed. She was going to wait, no matter how long it took Josie to figure things on her own. 

***

New Year’s Eve party was a lot to take in. M.G and Lizzie were a couple now and it was hard to separate them away from each other, despite the many hoots of laughter from various nosy students who see their relationship as a sinking boat. 

Penelope had been very annoyed at first when M.G didn’t tell her that he started seeing the other Saltzman after Christmas Eve. M.G, who had been nothing but apologetic, took the chance to spill lots of in-depth chats about Lizzie’s feelings, a most uncomfortable experience that Penelope would have happily forgone.

Penelope may be less selfish than she used to be, but talking about Lizzie in a different light was still a lot to take in. 

“Look at you,” Lizzie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, shooing M.G. away to get some drinks. “I’d never thought I’d see as the wallflower of the party.”

Penelope rolled her eyes. “And I thought I’d never see you falling for M.G.”

“Christmas Eve changed me.”

“Thanks to me,” Penelope smirked. “You’re welcome by the way.”

Lizzie nodded obliviously. “You talked to my sister yet?”

Penelope hesitated. “What?”

“You heard me. Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen between the two of you and frankly, I really don’t care--stop rolling your eyes!--here’s the thing Penelope, I’d never forgive you for toying with Josie’s heart. You know that. M.G knows that. But at the same time, it’s really up to Josie if she wants you back.”

Penelope gaped, speechless.

“I’m capable of change, Satan.” Lizzie scowled. “So, do yourselves a favor and talk to her. Better now, before I change my mind.” 

Penelope rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she was waiting for Lizzie to give her blessing or something.

Lizzie raised her eyebrow as though taunting her.

“If Josie doesn’t want to talk to me, then who am I to force her?” Penelope said bitterly. Josie made it clear that she wasn’t keen on approaching her, much less assert herself, the last thing she wanted to do was to force Josie to talk. Goddamnit, M.G was right. She was walking on eggshells. 

Lizzie blinked. “Moral compass doesn’t suit you.”

“I know.” 

Just then, Josie flitted in her line of sight. Gone was the look of conflicting thoughts that hang around her and was replaced with a happier, lovelier version of herself. In the crowd, she looked lost in the moment, drinking in nothing but her dancing partner that was Hope Mikaelson. 

Penelope watched as her hair spun out, her movements bounced more with each beat. She dancing without a care in the world, grinning from ear to ear. This was perfect. This was art coming to life: Josie smiling without a weight on her shoulders and all that mattered to her was the person in front of her.

Josie never looked more alive.

“Ugh, I can’t believe she’s dancing with Hope,” Lizzie scowled, then shrugged at the sight of them laughing. “Whatever makes her happy, I guess.”

Penelope ached. It felt like she playing with her own very nature and at any moment, she would finally snap, push Hope away from her ex and kiss Josie hard, without ever saying a word. She wanted to pull Josie, be the person who was making her smile. She wanted to kiss Josie until the girl could feel shivers through her core, shivers that would make her whole body tremble. 

She wanted to. 

But she also promised to be selfless. Little by little, the emotions buried deep beneath the surface were screaming at her to just do it and consequences be damned. 

Josie caught her eyes, her smile faltering.

Penelope didn’t move.

“I’ll go… smoke somewhere.”

Penelope left. As she blinked, tears dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks.

 

***

It was thirty minutes before New Year's Eve and Penelope found herself at the roof of the old mill, inhaling the last batch of weed that was Lizzie’s Secret Santa gift. 

Her mind was pulling in opposite directions. Penelope couldn’t abandon the memory of seeing Josie happy without her. Seeing her with Hope felt like a fresh wound, something that would leave a new scar to add to her collection. The burning sting in her core was threatening to explode, as though her whole body was telling her to act out. Do something for herself, anything that would make her feel fireworks and forget about Josie. Kiss someone else. Anything. 

At the same time, she felt happy. Josie was finally finding a way to put herself before others. Penelope got what she wanted the most and it left her with nothing but conflicting thoughts and messy emotions. It made everything inside her hurt. This was probably what it felt like to be Josie, to care for other people’s feelings at the cost of her own. 

The sound of a window opening caused her to jump. 

“Hey.” 

Josie. That was Josie. Penelope hid the weed away from prying eyes, standing to get a good look of her ex. 

“So, we kissed,” Josie said without hesitation.

She stepped forward, out of the shadows. One of the first things Penelope noticed was that Josie’s eyes were bloodshot, drooping in exhaustion. The second was the harsh smell of alcohol and the rosiness of her cheeks.

Great, Penelope thought bitterly. If there was something she learned from her long complicated history with her ex, it was that her drunken ramblings weren’t just random thoughts. Drunk Josie was more honest and less cautious than the sober version of herself. 

“Jojo,” Penelope sighed. “You’re drunk and I’m high. That’s a very dangerous combination.” 

“It was a great kiss.” Josie interrupted.

Penelope nearly lost her footing.

“Don’t fall!” Josie squawked, her hand exploded with magic. Warm light settled around Penelope, guiding her away from the rafters. Soon, she found herself tucked under Josie’s arm. 

It felt like home. It felt right.

“You shouldn’t have said that…”

“That the kiss was great?” Penelope met many versions of drunk Josie before and all of them were the bane of her existence. This one, however, was the only one who exuded with confidence and determination that rivaled hers. “Because it is.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re drunk. You’ll forget about this in the morning.”   
Josie always does. Drunk Josie from a year ago also said she’d take care of herself more, put Penelope first before her sister. Look at where that ended. 

Penelope went towards the window. “Is there anything else you want to say?” She added dumbly because she was into self-inflicting pain. 

“I want you back.”

Penelope did lose her footing. Her knee was halfway the window, the skin chafed against the sharp edges. Shit.

“Okay!” Penelope exhaled. Never mind the knee, she needed to get her ex out of the situation fast, before they do something wrong and regret everything the next day. “You need to go to your room and sleep it off. I’ll find Hope, you stay--”

“Hope’s with Landon, somewhere in the woods.”

“Lizzie--”

“With M.G, in the library.” Josie made a move to hoist her up and Penelope immediately backed away. “Let’s just stay here, okay? I want to talk to you. Besides, I’m not that drunk.”

“But you are!” Penelope hated how her tone sounded desperate. “Otherwise you won’t be saying this Come on, JoJo. Let’s get you back to the school. Please.”

“Penelope--” 

“You need to be very careful with what you’re going to say next.”

“I mean it. I want you.”

Penelope could feel her fist clench, shaking, her whole body not knowing whether to accept her ex’s words or give up all hope together. She silently screamed, suffocating herself with each breath as she held onto her pride, onto the idea that what she wanted would perfectly work out. 

She wanted to say yes. Her mind screamed yes. And yet...

Penelope stepped back and ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm the silent war within her mind. “Why?”

Josie hesitated. “What do you mean?”

“Why?” Penelope pressed. “You said you want me back and I want to know why. I was selfish when we were together, more selfish than Lizzie. I’m controlling, I’m narcissistic. Can’t you see that? I’m the one who sabotaged our relationship.”

“Stop! Stop blaming yourself,” Josie said in a sharp, shrill tone that told Penelope that the girl was as frustrated as she was. “It’s my fault too. I always put others before me and it hurt both of us.”

Penelope exhaled. This was the first time Josie acknowledged her emotions in their relationship. 

“I didn’t realize that my co-dependency would destroy me. I wasn’t able to do things on my own, focus on myself, and realize what I did and didn’t do, and it contributed to the demise of the relationship. Thinking back, you’re only looking out for me.”

“In a twisted kind of way.”

“Out of love,” Josie whispered, defensively. “You helped me see that Lizzie can be emotionally destructive, even at the cost of me hating you.”

Penelope closed her eyes. “I broke up with you. I made you choose between me and Lizzie. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“And you continuously choose me even if I didn’t choose you back. When I’m not ready to go above and beyond to put our relationship first-- to put myself first-- you still want me. You didn’t stop being fixing my life of even though I’m not brave enough to choose you.”

Penelope exhaled as Josie grabbed her left hand, placing the open palm on her chest. Her eyes exuded with forgiveness. Josie's arm wrapped her other arm around her and Penelope hoped she would never let go.

“You once said the world needs a selfless and a selfish to keep spinning.” Josie’s face was inches away from her. Her eyes glinted with a determination that Penelope never seen before, and she suddenly became aware that every part of her body was pressed against the wall. “ Right now, I want to be the latter.”

 

“Josie,” Penelope’s warned weakly. “You--”

Josie yanked her closer and covered her mouth in a hungry kiss. It was far from gentle. It was demanding, all-consuming, and it was nothing like she had ever experienced before. Josie was finally asserting herself and it felt possessive. Josie pushed her body closer and it seemed to mold against hers, making her heart beat wildly in her chest, her knees growing weak at the intensity of the kiss. Josie’s hand gripped her hair, tightly, and Penelope felt her heart explode. 

Penelope pulled back, panting. She attempted to move but Josie put her arm against the wall, caging her with ease. It took several minutes for both of them to calm down and catch their breath.

Out of nowhere, fireworks erupted on the skies. 

“Happy New Year, Penelope,” Josie whispered, smiling fondly.

***

“Jo, it’s nine in the morning!”

Penelope awoke with a momentary sense of panic. The room she was in looked far from hers and definitely wasn’t the man-cave that was M.G’s dorm room. 

“Where --”

“Shh,” there was a flurry of movements, a hand caging her under a thick duvet of covers. Josie. They were in the twins’ bedroom. “Five more minutes!”

“Josette!” More banging. “Open the door.”

“I told you five more minutes,” Josie complained. When her twin remained silent, she reached out and caressed the side of Penelope’s face.

“You remember everything you said last night?” Penelope whispered gently, reverently rubbing her fingers along the silken mattress. She tried to stand but Josie pulled her down, and the rest of her words were lost against her mouth.

“Does that answer your question?” Josie asked coyly. 

“You two better not be kissing in there!”

“Come on, Lizzie! Leave them alone.”

With the sound of footsteps leaving, Penelope found herself pinned against the bed. The determined look Josie had last night rematerialized, only this time, it sparkled with mischief. This is it, Penelope thought. Josie was going to be the death of her.

“So what did Lizzie said about kissing?” Josie asked huskily, close to her mouth but not quite touching. 

Penelope gulped. “That we shouldn’t do it?”

“Well I’m feeling selfish today, so...:”

“So?” Penelope said slowly, taunting her. “What are you going to do about it?” 

Josie crashed her lips to hers.


End file.
